Women in science: Beyond the feminine chambers

Cognitive neuroscientist, Gillian Einstein (left) working with members of her laboratory team at the University of Toronto. Photo credit: Natta Summerky/University of Toronto

Today’s
postmodernist landscape has ushered new ways of thinking and opened doors for
feminine voices that have once been shrouded by a society predominantly
‘malestream’. From exploring brain disorders to keeping people healthier
longer, and to uncovering the fascinating facets of nanotechnology—these
exceptional women have inspired tremendous progress in the scientific
community. Here, we highlight three female stars of science.

1. Gillian Einstein: Exploring science, sex
and sexism

Do brain
disorders like Alzheimer’s disproportionately affect women? Are cultural
practices and health anomalies purely biological? Or are they social
constructs?

A
distant cousin of Albert Einstein, Gillian Einstein – in attempting to
explore the correlation between cultural practices and health anomalies – raised
the question: Do these practices create the differences between the sexes, or
are they merely reflecting them?

An
advocate for multidisciplinary research in women’s health and a
neuroscientist, Dr Einstein started examining the effects of female genital
cutting when she opened her lab at the University of Toronto, in 20016. Her
current research efforts explore the neurobiological effects of cultural
practices; such as female genital cutting and the effects of hormonal cycling
on cognition and mood.

As
pointed out by Dr Einstein, so much of the focus of these women has been on
their genitalia and reproductive lives. “Of course, I care about whether that
is important to them. But, I actually started out by telling the women that
I’m not interested in your genitalia. I’m interested in your brain.”

The
sensory “homunculus” – or the pictographic map of the brain – according to Dr
Einstein, resembles a little like a ghoulist Spartan helmet: “a curved
hemisphere of cortex with drawings of limbs, digits and organs sprouting from
every inch.”

The
brain region, where sensation from the genitalia is processed, sits right
beside the spot for sensation from the feet and lower limbs. She questions
the possibility of the gait being affected when women’s genitals are cut.
Gleaning through 65-plus years of literature, Dr Einstein and her team discovered
that every illustration of the sensory homunculus depicted a man.

Yet,
nobody had mapped a woman’s body. The “homunculus,” as Dr Einstein later
termed it, is mostly blank apart from the breasts and vagina.

Policies
to address the long-established gender bias in clinical health
research started since the 1990s. Dr Einstein feels that because women were
consistently “under-represented in clinical trials” for decades – the
efficacy and safety of therapies are less certain for them. Evidently, of the
10 prescription drugs withdrawn from the US market between 1997 and 2001 – eight
were more dangerous for women. It is most pronounced in neuroscience studies,
where many tend to use only male animal models.

2. Elizabeth Blackburn: Staying healthier
longer

The
Nobel winner, who discovered the role of telomerase and telomeres in the
ageing process, believes that when we keep telomeres in prime condition – we
can stay disease-free longer.

In her
research, Dr Blackburn provides insights into why some 60-year-old individuals
look and feel like 40-year-olds. She attributes it to the biological
indicator called telomerase, which protects our genetic heritage.

“We all
have health spans – the number of years we remain healthy, active and
disease-free – and the shortening of our telomeres contributes to ageing, as
well as and our entry from health span into disease span. But we can [do
things that] affect our telomerase and telomeres, that can [delay] entry from
health span to disease span.

First of
its kind, the book details how we age at the cellular level, and authors Dr
Blackburn and Dr Elissa Epel have found that our lifestyles can protect our
telomeres – minimising the effects of ageing.

Integrating
new studies from genetics, epidemiology and social science, the authors show
that sleep quality, exercise, aspects of diet, and even
certain chemicals can affect our telomeres. In addition, chronic stress,
negative thoughts, strained relationships – and even the wrong neighbourhoods
– can be detrimental to our health spans.

Ideally, neighbourhoods characterised
by trust, green spaces, and safe streets have positive effects on our health.
Positive relationships pave the way for longer telomeres; especially among
married people or those with partners. Abused women were found to have
shorter telomeres and one preliminary study suggested having children may
boost telomere health.

Regarding
her own telomeres, Dr Blackburn expresses that “I had my telomeres tested
because I was part of a research study. It turned out I had long telomeres.”
Nonetheless, the test result doesn’t stop Dr Blackburn from taking seriously
the lessons she’s learnt from the research. “I do try to build these things
into my life. I exercise, but I don’t spend hours at the gym. I have a good
diet, but am not fanatical about food. And, I certainly try to think about
the effect of stress. I practise micro-meditations which I think help,” she
adds.

As
president of the Salk Institute in San Diego, Dr Blackburn feels the need to
be active. “I expect there is going to be a mass shortening of telomeres
around the country – related to the chronic severe stress – that will be a
consequence, if a number of Trump’s policies come to pass... We are in for
big individual and societal costs.”

3. Mildred Dresselhaus: 'Queen of Carbon' and
nanoscience pioneer

The
daughter of Eastern European immigrants, Mildred Dresselhaus lived through
the Great Depression and earned a status of royalty in the scientific
community. A trailblazer in science, she has paved the path – defying the
odds of patriarchy, and opening doors for potential successors – particularly
the female scientists she mentored.

"When
I came, we only had 4% of women at Massachusetts Institute of Technology
(MIT), and fewer even in physics," recalled Dresselhaus of her early
days in 1960, when she was hired by MIT's Lincoln Laboratory. "Today,
we're getting close to the 50% mark. That's an amazing achievement in one
lifetime.”

Dresselhaus'
work with carbon materials, semiconductors and nanotubes made her the first
woman to have clinched the National
Medal of Science in Engineering in 1990, and earned the Medal of Freedom in 2014—the highest
civilian honour in the US.

She certainly
had bagged a string of ‘firsts’ throughout her career milestone—being the
first woman to become a fully tenured professor at MIT; the first to become
an institute professor; and the first solo recipient of the
prestigious Kavli Prize, for her contributions to nanoscience. In
addition, Dresselhaus had published more than 1,700 papers and co-written
eight books.

Dubbed the
"Queen of Carbon" and nanoscience trailblazer, Dresselhaus died
recently. She was 86.

"Yesterday,
we lost a giant—an exceptionally creative scientist and engineer who was also
a delightful human being," expressed MIT President L. Rafael Reif.

‘Queen of Carbon’, Mildred Dresselhaus, was awarded the Kavli Prize and the Presidential Medal of Freedom for her contributions to nanoscience. Photo credit: NPR/Marit Hommedal/Flickr

Dresselhaus
"laid the foundation of nanotechnology by predicting the existence of
carbon nanotubes before anyone had actually seen these tiny but very strong
structures for the first time,"Talk of the Nation host,
Ira Flatow shared in 2007.

Dresselhaus
was not one to rest on her laurels. Even in 2014, she was still actively
evangelising for the sciences.

"I
think that entering the field of science is really almost the best career
[young women] can have… There are two reasons. One, the work is very
interesting; and secondly, you're judged by what you do and not what you look
like,” remarked Dresselhaus, with pride.

Just as
she had described physicists as stars, she is certainly the spectacular star
that illuminates the dignified capabilities of women. MIMS